Why Walz Is Being Attacked as 'Tampon Tim'

Tim Walz continues to make headlines, as the public learns more about him, and as the GOP goes on the attack. But one law the Minnesota governor signed last year is drawing special attention, as well as generating a new derogatory nickname.

• The law: The bill included a mandate to provide free menstrual products to students in fourth grade all the way up through 12th. CBS News calls it an effort meant to address "period poverty," when students can't afford necessary pads and tampons. NPR notes Minnesota is one of nearly 30 states that has such a law in place.

• GOP attack: "Tampon Tim put tampons in boys' bathrooms," Karoline Leavitt, a Trump campaign rep, said in a statement to CBS. She made a similar claim Tuesday on Fox News, noting, "As a woman, there's no greater threat to our health than leaders ... who support putting tampons in men's bathrooms in public schools."
• More: Other right-wingers also came out swinging. "She actually chose Tampon Tim," Stephen Miller, an ex-adviser to former President Trump, wrote on X after Vice President Kamala Harris announced Walz as her running mate. Chaya Raichik, who runs the far-right Libs of TikTok social media account, posted a picture of a box of tampons with Walz's face superimposed on it and the words "Tampon Tim" written across the front of the package.
• Fact check: The Star Tribune's editorial board lauds the "compassionate" law and calls the attacks against it "ill informed," pointing out there's no mandate to put menstrual products in boys bathrooms—the law's language simply allows for the products to be placed where those who need them can access them, like unisex bathrooms or the nurse's office. "This has unfortunately been used to stoke ongoing culture wars over transgender individuals," the authors note.
• Misfire? Some say the GOP's campaign against Walz won't work. "Friends, this attack will backfire," writes Nancy Kaffer in an op-ed for the Detroit Free Press (this columnist agrees).
• Big-name pushback: NPR notes that "many on the left see 'Tampon Tim' as a compliment, including the Minnesota congresswoman who was the chief sponsor of the bill in the state House. "This law exemplifies what we can accomplish when we listen to students to address their needs," wrote Rep. Sandra Feist, using the #TamponTim hashtag. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton weighed in as well, noting, "How nice of the Trump camp to help publicize Gov. Tim Walz's compassionate and common-sense policy."

(More Tim Walz stories.)